Hand printed shopping bags

I got my craft on the other day with some home printed bags I made that were easy to do, didn't take a long time and make cute gifts as you can personalise the stamps you make to be something the receiver loves....

You will need:

Some plain cotton shopping bags
Fabric paint
Glue
Foam brushes
Sheets of craft foam
A piece of card the size of your bag
Iron
Clean tea towel or pillowcase

Do it:

Start by drawing your designs onto your foam sheets-the simpler the design, the easier to cut out!

Cut round your doodles and use the glue to stick this onto another piece of foam. It's better to make a little stack out of several pieces of foam to give you more to hold on to.

Insert your cardboard inside your bag, this will stop the printing going through to the other side of the bag.

Use your foam brush to paint fabric paint onto your stamp, being careful not to get the paint on the background foam.

Choose where you want to start your design and press the stamp firmly down. Peel up carefully so not to smudge the print and repeat, load up with paint, print, etc. until your design is finished.

Allow to dry and iron with a tea towel or something over the top to set the paint.

Also try on scarves, tops, skirts, table cloths, pillows.....whatever takes your fancy!

Sweet Potato Hash

This is an easy little throw together, that can be eaten as a main or a side dish. I had it with gammon and a fried egg tonight, but you could also crack eggs into it and finish it off in the even, and you could also top it with cheese.

What you need:
Sweet potato, diced small(I leave the skin on)
Onion, finely diced
Red pepper, finely chopped
Sweetcorn
Spinach
Garlic powder, salt and pepper
Fry light (or oil if you don't have this)
Quantities are dependent on what you want most of. I used 1/2 a large potato and about 1/2 cup of each veg for one large portion.


What to do:
First, boil the sweet potato until just soft. Wilt the spinach in a frying pan whilst the spuds boil. Remove the spinach and chop it up, and leave to one side whilst you sautée the onions and peppers in some Fry light spray (or a little oil if you don't have this).
Add the sweet corn and spinach to this mix once the onions have softened and sprinkle in a pinch of garlic powder, salt and pepper. Remove from pan and set to one side. Add some more fry light to the fry pan and add the drained sweet potatoes. Sautée until lightly browned and then combine the veggie mix with it. When combined serve. Simple and tasty, and if using fry light then healthy too! Yum.

Slow Cooker Pork Ribs with Apples

I often make these on a weekend, just leaving them to do their thing together in the slow cooker while I go about my day. They are DELISH. I just throw everything together into the pot, and cook 'em on low for the whole day. They're great served with mashed potatoes and coleslaw, or pickled red cabbage, but this time I had 'em with a celery and sweet corn casserole and sour cream mashed potatoes. (I'll be blogging the casserole separately)

What you need:
1 rack of baby ribs (cut to fit into your pot)
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup brown sauce
1/2 cup tomato purée
1 tbsp dried mixed herbs
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup dark muscovado sugar
1/2 cup red wine (or water)
1/2 cup vinegar
2 eating apples, chopped
( I don't use salt, as I don't feel it needs it, and I have salt on everything usually, but you decide!)

What to do:
Mix everything together and pour over the ribs. Place in slow cooker pot and put lid on. Turn slow cooker onto Low setting. Put your feet up/go out/go to bed/whatever. Approx 8 hours later you have a pot of deliciousness waiting for you! Eat it.

Blue Cheese Mushroom Stacks

I made these for dinner and they were scrum-diddly.
Can be served as a starter or serve two with a salad for a main course.
They also work with any other cheese but I am having a bit of a blue cheese obsession at the mo!

Make 'em:

Large mushrooms
Cherry tomatoes, halved
Red pepper, chopped
Blue cheese, sliced or crumbled
Oil
Bread, sliced
Garlic granules
Black pepper
Oregano

I haven't put quantities of anything as it's all up to you, also you can change up what veggies you use too. I used 2 cherry toms and about 1/4 of a small red pepper per 'shroom, and enough cheese to cover. I sliced my bread from the end of a crusty loaf to make my croutons but you could also use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes from a slice of bread.

Oven at 200'c (fan)

Lightly grease the bottom of your roasting tray and sit the mushrooms in cap-side down. If they have long stalks trim these first.
On each mushroom place the tomatoes and peppers and top with your cheese. Gently drizzle your pieces of bread with oil and sprinkle with the garlic, pepper and oregano. You shouldn't need any salt due to the cheese. Stack these on top of the mushrooms and cook for approx 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and transfer to plate. Then make lots of "mmmm" sounds as you chow down.

A little up-cycle project

Sometimes I see things in charity shop windows and decide that I need to buy them and make them into something better. I see potential in bedraggled looking old items that other people have seen fit to throw away. Often I don't actually follow up on my vision, but this time I did and bought a knackered old footstool from the charity shop near my work.

Anyway, in 2 afternoons I managed to turn this piece of 'junk' into something quite nice. Well, I like it anyway. I used an old duvet cover that had a tear in it to cover it, and used a tester pot of paint to paint the base with. Here's how it went in pictures....

Snack Attack

Obviously we all know it's January, and I'm gonna hold my hands up and admit that I well and truly made the most of the Christmas spirit in December, and therefore I'm going for the usual 'January weight loss plan'.

However, I am NOT on a diet. I've done enough faddy diets to realise by now that they don't work long term, they make you feel deprived and therefore binge, and the only pounds you end up losing are the ones in your pocket!

So as a general rule I'm being good 80% of the time and naughty 20%.
One of the things I am a sucker for though, especially at work, is snacks. So I've come up with a solution that is actually blooming lovely. Popcorn. Not the fried in butter and slathered with hot caramel type (althought that sounds fricking lush!), but the air-popped kind.

I borrowed (with no intention to return) the popcorn maker that my Mum has had in her cupboard for years and bought some seasonings online. All I do is add some kernels to the machine, let it do its magic, then shake on my flavour of choice. The seasonings are super low calorie, so guilt free snacking is on!

Now I just need my bruised ribs to feel better so I can add in my exercise routines I have planned (Jillian Michaels will be helping here!)

Super easy one pot potato bake

This is one of those "chuck it in a dish, chuck it in the oven, chuck it on a plate and chuck it in your gob" kind of dishes. My favourite.
Not only is it easy, but it's cheap, and low in fat if you only use a tiny bit of cheese on top. WIN.
Oh, and it tastes pretty lush too.

So:

You need-
4 medium potatoes
4 bacon medallions ( or 4 rashers trimmed of all fat)
1/2 small jar pitted black olives
1 red pepper
1 carton passata
Garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper
Grated cheese (amount depends on how fat you want it to be!)
A little water

Do this-
Preheat oven to 200'C
Slice potatoes into 1/2 cm approx slices
Slice olives in half
Chop pepper
Chop bacon
Add all this into a oven proof dish
Add the olives
Mix the seasonings into the passata and add some water (about a cup) and pour over the potato mix. Grate a little cheese over the top. (Or don't, whatevs.)
Bake in the oven for about 50 mins. The spuds will soak up all the tomatoey goodness and be browned on top. Serve with salad to make oneself feel even healthier.
Also great reheated so take some to work for lunch the next day!

Beauty loves....

Ok, so far I've not been the best at this blogging malarkey, and I'll be honest and say it's probably not gonna last, but with a move in jobs I now have a LOT more time to myself in the evenings so you never know...

Anyway, thought I'd do a little thing on some of my fave beauty products as over the last year I've discovered some right little gems. Being a subscriber to Glossybox, I've come across some stuff I'd never have normally tried before, some have been a load of old tosh, others have been amazing and I now use them all the time.

So anyways, here's some of my recommendations....

1. Palmer's cocoa butter gradual tan moisturizer (They spell it with the z, not me!)
This is super if you're pastey skinned like me and just want a natural looking, gentle glow. It's also easy to layer up for a deeper look without making you look like a total Oompa Loompa. Cheap too!
2. Alison Claire So Remarkable Mango body butter.
This smells divine. I love it. Super moisturising without making you feel like a big old grease ball straight after you put it on.
3. Soap & Glory "it's about prime" eyeshadow primer.
This makes stuff stick. It stops creases and makes even the cheapest eyeshadow look good and last for ages.
4. L'Oreal Superliner.
This is by far the best liquid eyeliner I have ever used, and I've used many. It's a pen so dead easy to draw the line with, and if you make a mistake it's actually easy to clean up unlike a lot of others. I've had this one for quite a while now and the nib is still as good as when I first got it and its not showing any signs of running out. (I've jinxed myself there now!)
5. L'Oreal Studio Secrets universal lip glow.
This looks so weird as it's neon pink and see-through. It works to the temperature of your lips to give a rosy glow that looks different on each person. Great for daytime.
6. Simple eye makeup remover.
It works. Simple. I've got quite sensitive eyes, but this doesn't irritate and actually removes mascara, a job a lot of other 'eye makeup removers' seem to find quite hard.


7. Batiste dry shampoo.
I love this stuff and absolutely swear by it. I get quite greasy roots so this is brilliant for the days you don't want to wash your hair. I dye my hair so too frequent washing makes it fade too quickly, but this enables me to get away with not washing my hair every day. TOP TIP Spray it in your hair before you go to bed, brush out in morning, done.
Also fab as a styling product, great for spraying a bit in the roots before back combing for massive hair that will stay in place!
8. Bed Head Headrush.
I love love love this stuff. I always spritz it over my styled hair on a night out to add a touch of shine. And it smells lush.
9. Milk_shake conditioning whipped cream.
I'm new to this product, receiving it in my December Glossybox, but oh my god I can't imagine my hair without it now. It's one of 'those' products. It smells good enough to eat and does exactly what it says on the tin. I know of at least 2 other people who have just started using it and love it too.

10. Benefit High Beam.
Dot this on cheek bones, brow bones, Cupid's bow and anywhere you want highlighting. Magic stuff, used it for years.
11. Dr.Jart+ BB cream.
I've tried a few BB creams. The one by Boots 17 is good, but this one is brilliant. Does everything it says on the tube.
12. Liz Earle hot cloth cleanser and instant boost skin tonic.
I was bought this as a set for Christmas and have fallen in love with it. You put the cleanser on and then buff it off with the hot muslin cloth. Then sweep a cotton pad soaked in the toner over your skin. It feels brilliant and makes my skin feel lovely.
13. Monu Collagen Cream.
Best moisturiser I've ever used. Brilliant stuff.
14. Skinetica anti-blemish liquid.
This is great for breakouts. Dries spots out quickly and doesn't sting the skin like a lot of other spot treatments do.
15. Urban Decay Dew Me.
This is a makeup setting spray. It's probably my favourite beauty product I own. I've been known in the past to use a spritz of hairspray to set my makeup, but this stuff is superb. If you happen to fall asleep in a drunken stupor and don't take your makeup off you will wake up the next day with a full face of makeup that would be perfect for going out in. Apparently. I've never done that obvs.


Anyway, that's my beauty faves/recommendations. Hopefully I'll discover lots more over the next year and when I do come across something fab I'll do an update.
Hopefully the photos have actually loaded up in the correct order but if not I'm sure you'll work it out!
Charley Xxxx